


A Glitch's Nightmare

by AshenAngel



Series: Wordplay [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, Error is with Nightmare's Gang, Kinda, M/M, Mistakes were made, Nightmares, Panic, Promises, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, They're a disaster, Trauma, starts off sad, switches to happy halfway through
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-03-22 16:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13768458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshenAngel/pseuds/AshenAngel
Summary: Things were very rarely "normal" or "all right" for the villains of the multiverse. Between illness and other surprises, Error, Nightmare, and their crew charged into battle to prevent the balance of the universe from tipping.The Star Sanses have been growing apart. However, Ink and Dream teamed up and fought against them, against Blueberry's wishes, and won.Error is sealed away in the Anti-Void, but he'll be damned if he didn't keep the promise he made to Nightmare.





	1. Detachment

"Nightmare, watch out!" Error shouted over the chaos of battle when he saw Dream pull something from the pouch of his belt. A cry of pain escaped the glitch as he was hit with Ink's red paint attack. His bones felt like they were set aflame and he collapsed to the floor of the dust filled AU that had been caught in the crossfire of good and evil.

Error messages began to cloud his vision as the pain only began to worsen, though he wouldn't give Ink the satisfaction of hearing his screams. A watery laugh escaped him when he heard screams of pain coming from both sides. "You think that you're protecting the multiverse... But, you don't know kindness. No such thing as pity for someone without a soul." He managed to grit out, sensing the impending disaster about to occur. "You think you know what's good... That's why you have the multiverse behind you... You don't feel anything towards it, though, do you?" A gasp of pain escaped him as he was struck in the ribs. "Heh, guess not. Chaotic neutral at best, right? So why pretend to care?"

"I don't like it when you break my stuff." He heard Ink's hissed reply and started laughing again. Broken, unhinged, and uncontained despite the pain that every breath brought. Ink let out a frustrated growl and began to step down on his femur, the pressure threatening to snap it. "What does it feel like, knowing that you're going to lose and fighting anyway?" Ink asked mockingly.

"It feels like family." Error hissed and summoned his strings. Tears began to drip from his sockets as he launched them in Ink's general direction. He forced himself to get up, a bit unsteady due to his temporary blindness. "I guess you wouldn't understand that either. Must piss you off, not understanding the notions of the soul. Even all of us villains have a certain level of compassion, misguided as it is." Error snickered, feeling his strings ensnare his foe. The red paint was beginning to fade, and with it, his glitches faded as well. "I don't like it when you mess with my family." Tears still streamed from his eyes as he glanced over to where Dream stood over Nightmare, the dark and gooey skeleton struggling to keep the golden staff from coming down on his neck.

"There is no possible outcome that you'll come out on top of this." Ink stated plainly from where he hung slightly above the ground.

"So what?" Error blatantly asked, his maddening laugh sounding once more. Without another word he flung Ink into Dream, knocking him off of Nightmare. He swiftly teleported to Nightmare's side, offering him a hand up. "C'mon. Let's have some fun." He grinned, tears still sliding down his face.

Nightmare took the hand up, offering a small smile to his right-hand man. "Alright, boys! Play time's over!" He announced with a flagrant spread of his arms while his tentacles sharpened into harpoon-ish shapes. The ground trembled as he summoned his horde of dark Papyruses to charge at both Ink and Dream. Error guarded his blind side, a wall of coding stopping all of Dream's attacks while Ink desperately struggled against the dark army. "Cross, Horror, Killer, and Dust, get outta here!" He ordered, opening up a portal for them safely behind the front lines. The beat up foursome looked up at Nightmare hesitantly before ducking through the portal.

Error understood why he sent them away. The negative emotions in this AU were slowly dying out as the battle wore on. Nightmare was losing his strength and didn't want those four caught in the aftermath. "Error, you should get out of here as well." Nightmare spoke quietly. His cyan gaze was locked on Ink as he started making progress against the Papyruses.

Error gently took Nightmare's hand. "You're sounding crazier than me right now, boss." He spoke with a serious edge to his voice.

"I can't keep this up."

"I'm not leaving you to die here alone."

"Heh, you weren't bluffing about the insanity." Nightmare sighed, pulling Error a bit closer. "Let's go out with a bang." He spoke with a sad and loving smile, and used one of his tentacles to wipe away Error's tears.

"You got it." Error's strings disappeared as he channeled all of his destructive magic into the palm of his hand. He knelt down and applied this force to the dust covered floor below.

The AU would be destroyed in five minutes.

Ink broke through the Papyruses and struck Error with another red paint attack which downed him, while Dream managed to use another one of his secret attacks, sending Nightmare to the ground once more. The evil duo were out of steam. "As punishment for your crimes, we're sealing you both away, so that neither of you can hurt anyone else!" Dream announced.

"I've got one question." Error gritted out, a single eye socket open as he tried his hardest not to glitch out. "Where's Blueberry?" Seeing the affronted glares that both Dream and Ink gave him, he let out an unhinged laugh. Blue wasn't supporting them on this. That sweet little abomination. His gaze flicked to Nightmare, who was struggling with consciousness, and he offered him a small smile. "We'll get out of this. I promise."

They were engulfed by a blinding gold light, and Error felt himself falling.

He was alone.

They lost.

But he wouldn't give up. Not on Mare.


	2. Solitary

Drowning.

Suffocating.

Disoriented.

Error laid on the floor of the Anti-Void. He couldn't process any of it for a long moment, lost in the all-encompassing blankness. His multicolored digits twitched slightly as he tried to summon his strings. It didn't work. Static started to sound in the back of his mind. He shakily sat up, wild eyes darting across the vast expanse of nothingness. The static in his mind grew to a crushing crescendo.

_Stupid glitch... Stupid glitch... Why didn't you run... Run... RUN STUPID GLITCH WORTHLESS GLITCH RUN!_

"NO!" He screamed, curling in on himself to try and block out the voices. He trembled, digits scraping at his skull trying to rid himself of the screaming voices.

_WORTHLESS IDIOT GLITCH FOOL WEAK SHOULD'VE RAN!_

"I'M NOT WEAK! I COULDN'T LEAVE HIM, DAMMIT!" He roared, and the static died down to mere whispers in the back of his skull. His eyes opened once more. He swiped his hand through the air, trying desperately to escape the white hell he was trapped in. It had been so long since he'd been here. Nightmare had given him a home outside this place. He had been safe there. A sad, broken laugh escaped him. Safe in a mansion of murderers. Safe with the villains of the multiverse. Safe in the arms of the multiverse's worst fears. Tears streamed down his face as he began to glitch harshly, still trying to open up a portal with a shaking hand. He wasn't safe here. He needed to get out.

_You can't leave us. Weak little glitch. No escape no escape abomination. NO ESCAPE. STAY. DESTROY. BREAK. CAN'T LEAVE NO WAY OUT GIVE UP WORTHLESS GLITCH!_

Error slowly stood up, and began to walk. He couldn't tell if he was walking in a straight line. He couldn't make out anything. He was just stuck in an expanse that he had yet to define in terms of x, y, and z. The strings he'd used to create differences and depths in the white abyss were all gone. No sign of his trail of souls. He was just lost. Eventually his bones began to ache, so he stopped walking. With a wave of his hand he was able to open up his windows. Tears started to fall again as he saw most of the AUs proceeding as normal. He found the window to Underswap and choked back a sob as he saw Blueberry sitting alone on the couch, looking conflicted with dark rings beneath his sockets. He put a gentle hand on the window, his shoulders shaking slightly as he silently sobbed. Nothing should make that little abomination lose his starry-eyed smile. His gaze flicked to the window into Nightmare's castle.

_CAN'T DO ANYTHING ALL FOR NOTHING FAILURE YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING GLITCH!_

Error's soul stopped at he saw Dream and Ink in the castle, looming over Cross, Horror, Killer, and Dust. "NO! NO! LEAVE THEM ALONE!" He screamed, voice hoarse from all of his crying. He couldn't help them. With the same flash of gold, Dream sent them all back to their home AUs. Their own personal hells. Error beat furiously on the window, tears streaming down his face and sockets burning with rage. He wailed at the window until marrow started to leak from his digits, and continued on without care for his well-being. He needed to do something to help them but he couldn't do anything except watch. He eventually fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Everything was falling apart and he couldn't do anything. He eventually sunk to the floor, staring up at the vast expanse of nothingness above him. He shut his eyes and screamed out. He screamed and screamed until he just couldn't form a sound. The darkness grew thicker and thicker as he began to realize something.

He didn't want to open them again.

The voices couldn't reach him here. He was free in his mind. He could do whatever he wanted to.

Memories played out behind his closed sockets.

He was lying on the floor of the Anti-Void, trying to block out the screams that were refusing to let him rest. He felt a portal open up in the vast whiteness and staggered to his feet, thinking that Ink had come to pick another fight with him while he was still recovering. But instead of his enemy and counterpart, he was met with a surprised looking black... glob of a skeleton. The tar covered creature looked surprised to see another skeleton in the Anti-Void, but that surprise shifted into caution and aggression very quickly. Error stepped to the side when two black globular tentacles shot forward from the stranger's back, though he faltered slightly due to the still mending fracture in his right fibula. The tentacles quickly spun around and wrapped him up. It started off as a tingling sensation that worsened into an acidic burn. Error summoned his strings and sent them for his attacker's soul. They met their target and pulled it from the black goop.

The soul was corrupted, and kept melting through Error's strings, but he kept making them to hold it in plain sight.

**Nightmare Sans:**

_"The king of fear incarnate."_

**AT:** Variable

 **DF:** Variable

 **HP:** Variable

He recognized that name from somewhere. Ink had mentioned it while they were fighting a while back. "You're Dream's brother?" He asked in moderate disbelief. The tentacles tightened around him and he lost his grip on the other's soul. "I'm not your enemy!" He choked out through the burning pain. The tentacles slowly retracted, and Error fell to the floor.

Nightmare stood over him, looking suspicious. "How do you know Dream?"

"Ink mentions him a lot when we fight." Error replied, looking away as he placed a hand over his mending leg.

Realization flashed across Nightmare's face as he tracked Error's movements, and the tension left his tentacles. "So you're the destroyer of worlds I've heard about." He stated, confusion once again donning his features. "Why are you in the Anti-Void, of all places? Woulda figured that you'd have a nice castle hidden away somewhere." He thought out loud.

"Home sweet home, I guess." Error replied enthusiastically.

"From one _villain_ to another, you're welcome to hide out at my place when you need to. Ink forgot about the AU, and Dream can't even get in." Nightmare offered with a slight grin.

_DONT LEAVE NO NO HOME STAY HERE DONT LEAVE US NO!_

Error grimaced as the voices sounded off once again, and took a bleak glance around the vast expanse. "Why not?" He sighed quietly.

**_"Error, stay with me!"_ **


End file.
